A woman who said actor Danny Masterson in 2003 raped her while threatening herwith a gun spent four days telling her story last week in graphic andemotional testimony.
Known only as Jen B., she was the first of three women who are accusingMasterson of rape to testify. On the stand, she recounted, sometimes throughtears, how a friendly, “brother-sister” relationship turned dark after the”That ’70s Show” actor assaulted her as she went in and out of consciousness.
She told jurors of how she feared the Church of Scientology and was pressuredby its officials not to go to law enforcement with her allegations of rapeagainst Masterson, a high-profile church member.
Jen B., a former Scientologist, with Masterson in the late 1990s when the tworan in similar circles in the church and socialized. Masterson’s personalassistant, Brie Shaffer, was Jen B.’s friend at the time.
One night in September 2002, Jen B. was supposed to meet Shaffer andMasterson, but Shaffer canceled at the last minute. Jen B. joined Mastersonand others at Lucky Bar in Hollywood, where the actor gave her a vodka-and-grapefruit drink, according to her testimony.
Jen B. planned to sleep at Masterson’s house, and the two left the bar around2 am, she testified. She said she had only a few drinks but was drunk anddizzy when they arrived at Masterson’s Hollywood Hills home.
Despite her confused protestations, she testified, Masterson began kissingher, then had sex with her. She said she stopped the encounter when Mastersonattempted to penetrate her analy.
“I screamed ‘no’ out loud,” she said. “I curled into a ball and … I woke upthe next morning.”
Despite her negative view of the night, she did not consider it rape at thetime, she said. Masterson is not charged for the 2002 encounter.
Jen B. told friends about what happened and was called in by Scientologyofficials to discuss the incident, she testified.
Numerous friends had written complaints to the church, known as “knowledgereports,” against Jen B. The church, through her “ethics officer,” had her gothrough weeks of training, known as “handling,” in response to the incident.
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“You can never be a victim [in Scientology],” she said. “Nothing ever happensto you that you didn’t cause…. No matter what condition you find yourself in,no matter how horrible, you are responsible.”
Jen B.’s testimony regarding Scientology reignited debate between theprosecution and defense about the degree to which the controversial religionwould be brought up in the trial.
“I understand these witnesses’ lives may have been completely inundated withScientology,” Judge Charlaine Olmedo said, admonishing prosecutor ReinholdMueller during a break in Jen B.’s testimony. “This trial is not going to beinundated with Scientology.”
For months after the 2002 incident, Jen B. did not speak with Masterson, andher relationship with Shaffer was on the rocks.
In April 2003, however, she returned to Masterson’s home, where he was havinga party. He offered her a red drink, she tested.
Less than an hour later, Masterson approached and told her she was going inthe Jacuzzi, Jen B. told the court. Though she said she did not want to go in,Masterson would not take no for an answer and threw her in, she said. Once inthe water, she started to feel sick.
“I’d never been so nauseous in my life,” she said. “I heard [Masterson’s]voice saying, ‘I’m going to take her to throw up, stick my fingers down herthroat. She needs to throw up.’ “
He took her to his bathroom and made her vomit and take a shower, Jen B.testified. After the shower, Masterson moved Jen B. to the bed, where shepassed out, she said.
“When I first woke up on that bed, he was on top of me, and his penis wasinside me,” she testified.
She tried to grab Masterson’s face or hair to stop him, but he removed herhand and continued, she testified.
“I grabbed the pillow behind my neck … pushed it into his face right here. Itwas so close…. He shoved it back in my face harder, completely, with all hisbody weight on me,” she said. “Smothering, smothered. I could not breathe…. Idon’t recall him saying anything…. I went unconscious.”
When she came to, he was still penetrating her, Jen B. testified.
“I grabbed his throat…. Oh, God. So scary,” she said, crying. “[He] pulled myhand off and pulled it out, held it, grabbed the other hand, held it together.And just his face — I’ve never seen it look like that.”
When Jen B. regained consciousness that night, she heard banging atMasterson’s door, she testified. The actor pulled a firearm from a drawer, shesaid.
“Hey pulled [the gun] from the nightstand area. Pulled it up and held it inhis hand,” she said. “He told me to shut the f— up.”
Then Jen B. passed out again.
Jen B. reported the rape to the Los Angeles Police Department in 2004, despiteher fears about the reaction of officials in the Church of Scientology. Shehad asked for permission from officials to report the rape to police but wasdenied by the church’s “international justice chief.”
Olmedo allowed Jen B. to explain how her adherence to Scientology doctrinescaused her to delay reporting the rape.
“I was a Scientologist, and Mr. Masterson is a Scientologist, and you cannotreport another Scientologist in good standing to the authorities,” shetestified.
She said she feared she would be excommunicated if she reported Masterson topolice.
“My life would be over. My parents would have to disconnect from me…. They’dhave to choose [Scientology] or me…. I didn’t know that they would choose meover that,” she said.
No charges were filed against Masterson at the time. Jen B. eventually settledwith him for $400,000 and signed a nondisclosure agreement about the incident.
Masterson’s attorney Philip Cohen suggested that Jen B.’s story had changedover the years.
“[Jen B.] is now going to tell us the 2002 sex, which she told LAPD in 2004was consensual, she’s now going to tell you it was not,” Cohen said. He saidJen B. did not mention the gun to the LAPD in 2004, according to the policereport.
Jen B. insisted she told the LAPD about the gun in 2004.
She admitted forgetting certain details about the night after nearly twodecades. Under cross-examination, she conceded that she had forgottenMasterson woke her the morning after the alleged rape; she had previouslythought he was gone. But she insisted that she recalled the most importantfacts.
“I forgot that he awoke me…. It’s almost 20 years, I’m really trying,” she